There For You
by Knifez
Summary: ShikaTema, slight AU. The Fifth Great Shinobi War has taken a devastating toll on Konoha. Temari accompanies her brother after the war to a five-Kage meeting and gets reacquainted with the shell of a man she once thought she knew. She wants to help Shikamaru piece himself back together, because she isn't sure she can deal with looking at the pain in his eyes.


**Hey there, Naruto fandom! I'm brand new to this incredibly intimidating fandom, so I'm honestly quite nervous about posting this! I hope everyone who reads this enjoys.**

 **Couples: ShikaTema, NaruHina, implied SasuSaku.**

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The war was finally over.

Four years of brutal fighting, and the Fifth Great Shinobi World War had ended. Just five months after the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, Iwagakure and Kirigakure had made a power play, hoping to pounce upon the weakened Konohagakure. Sunagakure, with the tight bond between Naruto Uzumaki and the Fifth Kazekage, leapt to the Leaf's defense. Kumogakure had stayed neutral, much to the rest of the worlds surprise.

The fighting was done primarily in the Land of Fire, though over the course of the war Iwa and Kiri's forces were pushed deeper into their own countries. Eventually, Kiri surrendered on terms that their Mizukage be spared. Konoha agreed, only to end the fighting.

Iwa did not get off so lucky. As the masterminds of the war, they were expected to face heavy losses.

The casualties of the Leaf were horrific, and that's what had Temari chewing at her cuticles as she and Kankuro sat outside the conference room where the Kage meeting was currently being held. The war had ended just two days ago, and the world was still in shock.

She scanned the room, looking for any familiar faces besides her brothers. The only one she recognized from the Kage's closest helpers was the laid-back Kumo-nin with the Black Lightning tattoo. She saw several Konoha headbands, but they were strangers to her.

Granted, she hadn't been to Konoha in over four years. She had been appointed as one of the head tacticians for Gaara and had been relatively safe from the fighting, much to her initial annoyance. It was only when Gaara pointed out how much she could help the people of Suna did she begin to really appreciate her role.

"You seem antsy." Kankuro told her.

She brushed him off. "I'm fine."

He merely grunted at her, clearly not interested in pursuing the topic. "What do you think happened to those Konoha-nin we fought with?"

Temari ignored the knot that tightened in her stomach. "Which ones? We've fought against and alongside a lot of Konoha ninjas. You especially, given you were on the front lines."

He grinned at her, the large scar he had acquired during one of his many battles visible even through the line of make-up that covered it. "You sound jealous…." He laughed at her expression and answered her question. "The ones from back when we were kids. The Konoha 11, or whatever they're called."

A pale, bespectacled Kumo-nin sitting across from the two clucked his tongue.

The two Sand Siblings both turned to glare at the young man.

He flinched slightly under their gaze. "Sorry, you weren't exactly being quiet."

Curiosity got the better of Temari. "Do you know anything?"

The young man exhaled through his nose, crossing his arms. "Nothing good, and nothing thats confirmed true. No one has had any real contact with Konoha for a good two years until now. They've been such a wreck."

"And?" Kankuro prompted, impatient.

"Well, I heard none of the legendary Konoha 11 lived, except for the Kyuubi-jinchuriki."

At this, Kankuro just laughed. "Yeah, right. _Sasuke Uchiha,_ getting taken down by your average platoon of -nin? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day."

The Kumo-nin shrugged. "That's just what I heard. Name's Motori, by the way."

"Don't care." Kankuro replied breezily, as if he were discussing the weather. "Go away." He turned his attention back to his older sister, who was now gnawing on her bottom lip. "Okay," he said, "c'mon, what's up, Tem? You're chewing on your lip like a cow."

She slugged him in the arm, making him wince. "Shut up. I said I'm fine."

Kankuro leaned back into his chair and narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "Uh-huh."

"I haven't had a good fight in four years, you're really tempting me." She threatened.

He just laughed at her.

Just then, the door opened, and everyone in the door stood up and snapped to attention.

Gaara was the first to exit, looking tired behind his emotionless mask.

Kakashi, the Rokudaime Hokage, was behind him, followed by A, the Raikage, Mei, the Mizukage, and Kurotsuchi, the newly appointed Tsuchikage.

Gaara made a beeline for his siblings. Kakashi was right behind him.

"Kazekage-same, Hokage-sama." Both Temari and Kankuro said, bowing politely.

"Yo, Temari, Kankuro, it's good to see you." Kakashi told them, his face ever-hidden behind his mask. His eyes were smiling, though.

"I'm sorry for your losses," Temari said.

"Thank you, and I too am sorry for your losses."

"We appreciate the sentiment, but we all know Suna got off easy compared to Konoha." Kankuro said bluntly. He turned his attention to Gaara. "So what's the plan?"

"The Hokage and I are having a private meeting, with some of our old comrades." Gaara said quietly. "You two will be accompanying me."

"Is it true that all of the Konoha 11 are dead except for Naruto?" Temari blurted out before she could stop herself. Kankuro elbowed her in the ribs and she instantly regretted it, seeing the pain flash through Kakashi's eyes.

Of course, how could she be so stupid? Three of the Konoha 11 were the Hokage's former students.

"Forgive me," Temari began, but Kakashi held up a hand to silence her.

"There is no need for an apology. You have every right to be curious and to know. And no, he was not the only one to survive…" he glanced at the clock above the door. "But we really must get going. If you three would please follow me." He began walking off down the hall, the three Sand Siblings trailing slightly behind him.

"Are you okay, Temari?" Gaara asked, "you seem uneasy."

"Why do people keep asking me that?" Temari asked irritably, "I'm as fine as I can be considering we just finished a war."

Gaara bowed his head. "Forgive me, my intention was not to offend."

Guilt pricked at her chest and she put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "No, don't apologize. I'm just…on edge."

"We all are," Kankuro said in a tone that could pass for sympathy.

The four approached a door. Kakashi opened it and stepped inside.

 _Prepare yourself for the worst_. Temari told herself, taking a deep breath. _He's dead. He died and there's nothing you could've done so don't beat yourself up over it._

It sure as hell didn't cheer her up, but Temari had always prided herself on being a realist. She told herself, and others, what they needed to hear, even if nobody liked it.

She took a deep breath and entered the room.

It was a comfortable looking room. Four couches made as square in the center, all facing each other. The color scheme was soft and light. On one of the couches, two people sat together, resting their heads against one another. On the opposite couch sat another Leaf shinobi.

Her eyes scanned the three gaunt, grief-stricken faces that were sitting on the couches.

Naruto Uzumaki, the hero of both the Fourth and the Fifth Great Shinobi Wars. He looked quite similar to how Temari had pictured him, though he had dark circles under his eyes and more lines in his face, despite only being in his early twenties.

Hinata Hyuuga, soft and delicate looking, leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder. She too remained similar to what Temari had in her mind, though her eyes were harder and colder, as to be expected of someone who has seen so many comrades die. Her hair was a little shorter.

And on the other couch, leaning against the arm with a palm on her chin, was TenTen. Sporting several grizzly scars on her arms and one above her left eye, she looked more intimidating than Temari had ever remembered her. The Konoha girl looked up at the four that had entered the room, and gave a slight wave and a pained smile.

There was no love lost between TenTen and Temari, that was a commonly known fact, but Temari was still glad to see the Leaf kunoichi. There had been too much death in this war already.

However, the heavy feeling in her chest increased ten-fold when she realized that those three were the only people in the room.

"Surely they are not the only survivors," Gaara told Kakshi, walking further into the room with the Hokage. Alarm was shining in his light blue eyes.

Temari took a couple steps further into the room as the two Kage settled themselves on one of the couches.

"Most of them," drawled a voice from behind her, making her jump about six inches. Her heart caught in her throat and she turned around in surprise.

There _he_ was…all _alive_ …the jerk.

She hid the face-splitting grin that was fighting to take control of her face. Everything didn't seem so bad now.

Shikamaru Nara stared down at her, looking more pathetic and miserable than she had ever seen him look. His eyes had dark circles to rival Gaaras. His mouth had deep lines pointing downwards, as if he hadn't smiled in years. He was even taller, too. His eyes slid over her face, before turning to the two Kage. "Excuse my tardiness, you would think a building this big would have more than just one bathroom."

Kakashi waved a hand in dismissal, "It's fine, Shikamaru. Come, join us. You too, Temari."

Temari blinked and realized that Kankuro had already left her side and was sitting on the same couch as TenTen, leaving her and Shikamaru the only ones standing in the room. Temari awkwardly seated herself on the only empty couch, Shikamaru joining her seconds later.

Gaara, not one for shooting the breeze, got right into what he wanted to know. "How did this happen, Kakashi? If you suffered the loss of so many powerful shinobi, you should've called upon greater aide from Suna. We would've sent more troops to help defend Konoha than attack Iwa."

It was Shikamaru who answered, not Kakashi, and Temari felt the knot in her stomach loosen slightly as she listened to him talk. _He's alive_.

"Most of the damage was done in the first attack on Konoha, before you came to out aid." He said tonelessly. "We lost about half of the jonin from Kakashi's generation, along with Kiba, Lee, and Ch-" His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat and composed himself. "Choji on the that first night." He cleared his throat again, more harshly this time, and closed his eyes.

Temari found herself putting a hand on his arm. She didn't know why she felt the urge to do so, but she couldn't imagine _not_ offering him comfort at that moment. "I'm sorry, they were good shinobi." She told him.

His eyes stayed closed, but he nodded his thanks.

"And the Uchiha?" Kankuro asked, eyes looking from Kakashi to Naruto, "is it true? He was killed?"

This time it was Naruto who answered. " _Sasuke_ ," he corrected harshly, making Kankuro flinch, "gave his life for me, and Hinata, and a whole bunch of others."

"It was the worst attack we suffered, even more brutal than the first night." Kakashi explained when Naruto didn't elaborate. "About eight months ago, after three weeks of no fighting, they launched an assassination attempt, hoping to blow the village out of existence for good. Golems rigged with explosive clay rose out of the ground and decimated Konoha. Civilian areas were targeted, along with the Hokage's office. The Iwa-nin waited until we had started healing the wounded in the civilian areas before they attacked again, this time with human ninja. Naruto and Hinata were taken by surprise, and were killed, along with hundreds of others."

The eyes of the three Sand Siblings widened.

"You're kidding us," Kankuro said. "I see them right there."

Gaara, however, was piecing it together. "The Rinnegan," he said quietly, "I was unaware he could use that jutsu with just one."

"So was I," Kakashi said grimly.

Realization dawned on Temari. She remembered Shikamaru telling her about what justu the Akatuski member, Nagato, had used after his remorse for attacking the Leaf. It felt so long ago it made her chest ache. Everything hadn't been so bad back then.

"The Rinne Rebirth," she said aloud. "He used that jutsu?"

Everyone's attention was quickly turned to Naruto as the blonde slammed his fist agains the arm of the couch. "Sasuke…" he ground out, "he sacrificed himself…that _idiot_ …" he broke off, and Hinata put a comforting hand on his cheek. He leaned into her touch and took a deep, shaky breath.

Gaara reached across the couch and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm so terribly sorry." he said, "Sasuke was a great shinobi."

Temari and Kankuro eyed each other, surprised at the amount of emotion their little brother was showing.

"I still can't believe you didn't call for us," Temari told Kakashi, trying to keep accusation out of her voice. "We could've helped you."

"It's because I suggested we didn't." Shikamaru answered.

Temari turned to look at him, doing her best not to stare too long. "Why?" she snapped, "we could've _helped_ you, idiot!"

Shikamaru glared down at her, "I'm sorry you don't agree with my decisions, but maybe consider that there are some factors you weren't aware of when I considered what to do."

Temari was taken aback by his coldness. Never before had he spoken to her in such a way. Sure, he was blunt usually, but this was something else.

"I…I don't" She started to say, but Kakashi interrupted her.

"Now, I apologize for our silence over the war, but we were almost consistently busy, and we were terrified of spies." The Hokage leaned back against the couch and scratched his masked cheek.

"Understandable," Gaara nodded. "Now, we'll tell you our story."

Temari tuned out most of the conversation as Gaara spoke, him giving praise to her and Kankuro and to the brave shinobi of Suna that gave their lives to help Konoha. Most she had come up with herself as one of the head strategists, and so she took to staring at the people in the room.

She mostly found herself eyeing Shikamaru out of the corner of her eye. He was leaning forward onto his knees, listening intently to Gaara's words. He was fiddling with some sort of metallic object in his hands. She stared more intently at it and saw that it was a lighter.

Every once in a while he would feel her stare and turn his head sideways slightly to look at her. She would avert her eyes quick enough so there was no awkward eye contact and switch her gaze to someone else in the room.

Soon Gaara was done talking and then Kakashi elaborated on what happened. She didn't pay too much attention to him, either, except for when a name she recognized came up. Shikamaru's other teammate, Ino Yamanaka, had been captured and killed along with one of Hinata's teammates, Shino Aburame, on a failed reconnaissance mission. Naruto's other teammate, Sakura, had gone into an inconsolable frenzy after Sasuke died, fleeing from the village and doing tons of damage to Kiri forces before finally being silenced by Chojuro of the Mist. The ANBU, Sai, was apparently also still alive, but was in severe critical condition and was unable to make it to the meeting.

After what seemed like hours of mumbled apologies and condolences, the meeting was adjourned.

"Gaara, we will be meeting tomorrow with just the Raikage." Kakashi told him, standing up and stretching out his stiff muscles. "I assume your siblings will be staying here too?"

"It is their choice. I imagine they would like to get…reacquainted with connections of the past."

Why did Gaara look at her when he said that? She growled at him, but he didn't seem perturbed.

Everyone began to drift out of the room. The mood was depressing. Temari watched as Shikamaru got up and followed all of the Leaf-nin out of the room save for Naruto and Hinata, who had stayed behind to converse with Gaara.

She exited behind Kankuro, but realized that she didn't really know where her room was. She had only been here for one day and had yet been shown where she would be sleeping.

"Do you know where our rooms are?" She whispered to her brother.

He gave her an amused look, "I know where _my_ room is. Who knows where _yours_ is."

She snorted. "Idiot. They're probably right next to each other."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Mine's at the end of the hall, and my neighbor is this _smoking_ Kumo-babe. I mean I tell ya-"

Gross. "Gross." she told him, "that's enough, thanks. Guess I'll wait for Gaara to stop talking to Naruto."

"Good luck, they haven't seen each other in four years. They'll probably talk all night…or at least Naruto will."

Temari sighed, "you're probably right. Great, so I'm boned."

"Maybe you should catch up with Shikamaru." He suggested. His tone was innocent enough, but the devious smile on his face almost made Temari slam him in his idiot head with her fan.

The thought of being alone with Shikamaru, talking, put a hoard of butterflies in her stomach. "No. Bad idea."

"Okay then, have fun sitting here forever." Kankuro waved to her and walked off to his room, leaving her alone outside the door.

"Fine, I will!" she said stubbornly. No, she didn't really _want_ to sit out there, but screw Kankuro.

She leaned against the wall and slid down onto her butt, yawning. It was gonna be a long wait, but she wouldn't dare interrupt Gaara's time with Naruto. She knew very well that time with the jinchuriki meant a lot to her brother.

So she sat there and waited.

She didn't know how long it had been when she heard his voice.

"What are you doing?"

She jumped, looking up into the eyes of the man she now feared she knew nothing about. "Hm? Oh, I don't know where my room is, so I'm waiting for Gaara to come out so he can direct me to it."

Shikamaru stared down at her, his face expressionless. "Ah. The Temari I used to know would've barged in there and demanded he tell her where her room was…or at least roam around yelling until someone told her."

Temari didn't like the tone he was taking. She hadn't thought his voice could sound less emotional. "Yeah?" she snapped, "well guess what? People change, Shikamaru. It's been a long time." She hoisted herself up to her feet and turned to leave. Where? She didn't know. Just away from this feelingless man. She felt she might as well have been talking to a Zetsu clone.

His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. Electricity pulsed in her arm and she turned quickly, yanking her arm out of his grip, making him stumble forward.

She glared at him, waiting for him to explain himself. He regained his composure, scratching the back of his head. He was uncomfortable, she realized, and that made her feel a little better. At least he was showing _some_ signs of the man she used to know.

"Well, I know where your room is," he explained, "I can show you."

She rolled her eyes. "Aren't you the chivalrous one?"

He smirked, and Temari felt another little jolt in her stomach. "I guess some people don't change all that much," he said. He turned to leave.

Temari caught up with him. The walk didn't take too long. She was happier than she dared admit. Five hours ago, she was convinced he was dead, and that she was never going to see him again. Now, she was content to just walk besides him.

Eventually, he stopped in front of a door. "Here you go."

She opened the door and looked inside. It was nothing special. She turned to look at him. _Something special_. She thought.

He stood there for a second, seemingly about to say something. His hand had returned to the back off is neck and he was avoiding her eyes.

She beat him to the punch. "I'm glad you're alive, Shikamaru." She said, trying to keep the blush from forming on her cheeks. _Why am I blushing? That was a perfectly reasonable thing to say_. She told herself.

Shikamaru tried to smile, but it ended up looking more like a grimace. "Haha, yeah…I'm glad you're okay too…it was good to see you."

He turned to leave, and suddenly that feeling of contentment was gone, and that was scary. She realized with growing dread that she _really_ didn't want him to go.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked suddenly.

He turned to look at her, confused by her offer.

"It's just been a long time," she explained, trying not to ramble, "we can have a cup of tea and maybe play some shogi…y'know, catch up and stuff."

"What's there to catch up on? All the misery we've experienced in the past four years?" Shikamaru scoffed. However, he stepped past her into her room.

He settled onto the couch and Temari busied herself with making tea for them. She put the water on the stove and turned around, eyeing the back of the couch and his spiky ponytail. She wondered what his hair looked like free from that weird pineapple looking hairstyle. She had never seen it like that.

It was silent as she set the tea down on the table and sat next to him. She grabbed the tea and took a sip. So did he.

The seconds ticked by, and for the first time she felt an uncomfortable silence between them. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"What's the matter?" She winced instantly. A more reasonable question would've probably been 'What isn't the matter'.

He just rolled his eyes. "That's the best you can do for conversation?"

She felt her face heat up. She turned away and crossed her arms. "Why don't you leave then?"

He didn't get up. "You're the one who invited me in."

There was silence for another few seconds. "I just meant…you're…different…than you were." she finally managed.

Shikamaru was silent for a second. "Of course I'm different." he said dully. "War does that to people."

She whirled back around to face him, angry. "Will you stop making lame excuses and just talk to me?! What's the matter with you?"

He was silent for a little while. She half hoped he would get angry, just so he would show some kind of emotion.

"It's just…" he finally started. He trailed off, unsure of what to say. He avoided her eyes. "I just…feel like I have no one left to care about." His eyes were glued to the ceiling. "No one that cares about me…Asuma, my parents, my team…" he took a deep, shuddering breath.

"You have Naruto." Temari pointed out. "He loves you like a brother."

Shikamaru finally looked at her. "I guess…but…"

"And your sensei's daughter, right?" Temari interrupted, "and her mother? They survived the war, yeah?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And you're a war hero. You're Konoha's brilliant strategist." She continued. She wasn't going to give that lazy-ass a chance to self-deprecate.

"Some good that did!" He shouted, making her flinch. "Some good I was! I can't even save anyone I love!" He was standing up now, hands balled into fists and tears pooling in his eyes.

She had never heard him shout before. It was alarming. She wasn't scared, and she knew the anger wasn't directed at her, not in the least, but it was _definitely_ alarming. However, there was also a small sense of pride that she had been able to open him up like this.

"My mother…my father…Asuma, Ino…" he broke down then, sitting back on the couch. He buried his head in his hands, "Ch-Choji…gone…I couldn't..."

Temari scooted over and put a hand on his arm. She realized then, seeing him in such pain, that she wanted to so much more. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him until the pain went away. But she didn't.

She didn't because she wasn't confident enough, which was kind of ironic when she thought about it. All her life she had been confident about everything, but he changed that. He muddled with her thoughts and squashed her confidence, she worried what he thought about her.

She was fed up with that no good lazy-ass crybaby dictating that aspect of her.

"It's okay," she tried to make her voice as gentle as she could. She knew it didn't work well, she was no good at being gentle. "You have people that care about you and vice versa, Shikamaru. You have Naruto, and your sensei's family…" she hesitated, "And…well…you have me, Shikamaru, if that's worth anything."

Shikamaru looked up from his hands at her, eyes wide. "Of course its worth something. I've always cared about you, Temari." he said quietly.

The instantaneous nature and brutal honesty of the remark made her blush. She kept herself well-composed, as always, and squeezed his arm.

"I'm glad, crybaby."

He gave a watery chuckle and wiped his eyes. "Guess I really am a crybaby."

"It's okay, it's actually kind of endearing," she admitted.

"You think I'm endearing? What've you done with the real Temari?"

The hand on his arm clenched tightly and he winced. He removed the arm from her grip and rubbed it. "Damn it, that hurt."

"Good, it was supposed to." She leaned back against the opposite side of the couch and tucked her knees up to her chest, grateful her kimono was long and not revealing. She rested her head on her knees and just looked at him.

He gave her an odd stare and raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, I'm just happy your alive." She told him. "You have no idea how much I was dreading stepping into that room."

He blushed then, and she almost giggled. He was cute when he blushed.

"Why wouldn't I be? Kakashi wouldn't let me near the battlefields." He grumbled, turning so his back was also against the arm of the couch, mirroring Temari's position so they could see one another better.

"Well, rumors were going around that all the Konoha 11 had died." Temari told him, picking at the edges of her kimono. "Plus, Konoha was pretty much silent all throughout the war, so Suna wasn't getting any intel."

Shikamaru shrugged. "What about you? You're a war hero, I assume. Did you blow away all the Iwa and Kiri ninja with your massive fan?"

Temari laughed bitterly, but spared an affectionate glance at her fan, which was propped against a nearby wall. "I wish. No, I was one of Gaara's head strategists. I didn't see much combat, though I was at a few battles."

Shikamaru nodded, not looking surprised. "To be expected. I imagine it would be very troublesome to try and go up against your war tactics."

Temari laughed again, all traced of bitterness gone, and Shikamaru turned pink once again.

"Oh? You managed just fine all those years ago." She told him, poking her foot against his leg.

Shikamaru gave an exasperated sigh. "We were just kids back then, Temari."

"You still won."

"No, you won." he corrected.

"Are we really going to get into that again?" She retorted.

"What? You did." He smirked.

Temari shook her head, "Idiot…" she tried to look menacing, but her smile betrayed her.

It was nice. It felt closer to how their interactions had been before the war. He was acting more like… _him_.

They sat in comfortable silence for another few minutes, and Temari almost dozed off. She realized how peaceful it felt, sitting on the couch with him. However, she looked at him again and realized his face was once again miserable. He tried his best to hide it when he caught her looking, but it was too late.

"There it is again," she told him.

"There's what again?" he said unconvincingly, avoiding her piercing gaze.

"Your eyes. They're vacant and pain-filled." She resisted the urge to reach out and cup his face.

"I'm fine, really I am…" he told her, "as fine as I can be, at least. I'm working on the healing process. It's gonna be troublesome, but I'll overcome it eventually."

She tore her eyes away from his horrible dark circles and bit her lip, trying to think of something positive they could talk about. She couldn't come up with anything, and that damn look was back in his eyes!

"Stop it!" she pleaded.

He looked half exasperated, half annoyed. "Stop what? This is my neutral face."

She looked at the dark circles again, "You haven't been sleeping."

He sighed. She had forgotten how much he did that. "Not really."

"You're not tired?" she questioned.

"Oh I'm tired, but the sleep isn't worth it."

She understood instantly. "The dreams are that bad, huh?"

He nodded.

"Shikamaru, you need sleep. You'll go insane without it."

"You sound like my mother," he muttered, and pain once again hit his eyes with such intensity that it made her chest ache. He looked at her again, and she knew by the way his face was contorted that he was about to ask a loaded question. "I appreciate it, I do, but why are you doing this, Temari?"

She paused, wanting to word this properly. "I just…seeing you hurt like this…well…it hurts me too." She felt her face burn at the admission. Was that sappy? Was he going to roll his eyes at her?

But no, Shikamaru had to go and do something she didn't expect, as per usual.

He smiled. It was small, and a little crooked, but it was there.

She felt her face heat up even more. He just sat there and looked at her and kept on smiling, the weirdo. She hoped he wouldn't stop.

So they sat there. Facing each other, eight inches of couch separating their bent knees, and a comfortable silence ensued. She felt the drowsiness come back, and she yawned.

Shikamaru took note of this. "You're tired," he observed, "I should go, you've had a long day."

Temari yawned again, stifling it with her hand. "You're right, I am tired." she stood up. He made to get up but before he could she was standing over him. He paused and looked up at her, confused.

"Well, scoot over." She told him.

There was no way she was going to kick him out. He _needed_ her.

"What? Why?" he asked, complying anyways. He scooted over closer to the edge of the couch so he was almost half hanging off.

"Because I'm going to take a nap." She gracefully climbed over his legs and settled herself between him and the back of the couch.

"I should leave then," he said, making absolutely no move to get up.

They were side by side, feet stretched out, hips and arms touching.

"You won't." She told him, then smirked. "I won't let you."

"Troublesome," he grumbled, still giving no indication that he was going to get up.

She settled down then, leaning her head against his shoulder and sighing deeply. She felt him freeze up at the contact and couldn't help the bark of laugher that escaped from her lips. "Oh relax, would you?"

"It's not that," he protested, "its just one of your ponytails is prodding my nose, I'm about to sneeze."

Temari smirked. "Deal with it."

"I've always been curious to see what you looked like with your hair down," he admitted.

Interested, she took her head off of Shikamaru and propped it up on one elbow, so she was looking down at his face. "Oh? Funnily enough, I've always been curious about your hair as well."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I just keep it up because its traditional."

"You mean because its easy and you're lazy." She corrected.

"I think its traditional because its easy, actually." He admitted, and she snorted.

He raised his head then, so his ponytail wasn't jammed in the pillow he was using. "I don't care if you see it," he told her.

Temari's hand reached out and grabbed the hair tie, pulling it up the spiky pillar of hair. Once free, it fell over his face in a _very_ handsome way, and she blushed again. Damn him, handsome jerk.

Shikamaru noticed this and grinned. "See something you like?" he asked.

"You wish," She flicked his nose, head still propped up on one elbow. He rose a hand towards her hair, but she smacked it away.

"C'mon, I let you see mine." He protested.

"You'll have to at least buy me dinner first," she joked.

"You're so troublesome..." He grumbled.

She returned her head to his shoulder and silence fell over them once again.

This time it was he who broke it.

"This is nice."

Temari felt butterflies in her chest again. "No talking, nap time," she told him sleepily, nestling a little further into his shoulder.

"What a drag," he sighed, but she could hear the smile in his voice.

It was the last thing she recalled before she drifted off into peaceful sleep.

* * *

When she awoke, it was dusk. She didn't have to look at the clock to know it had been a good eight or nine hours since she fell asleep.

The first thing she registered was what her cheek was resting on. It was lean and muscular and smelled pleasant. Shikamaru's chest, she realized. The next thing was the light pressure on the top of her head, which she figured must be his chin, resting on her head. The third thing was his arms, wrapped securely around her. She felt herself blush. That _idiot_ , they must've cuddled up in their sleep…

She had never been more comfortable…

The final thing she realized was the one that made her the happiest. She ducked her head out from under his and raised it to look at his face. He was sleeping peacefully, with his arms around her and his chest rising and falling evenly. Stray strands of hair were lying over his face.

Handsome jerk.

She lay her head back down on his chest, not wanting to wake him. The light pressure must've triggered off some instinctive shinobi alarm though, as the moment her head hit in his chest his body tensed, and his heartbeat increased three fold.

She lay still, pretending to be asleep, curious to see what his reaction to their predicament would be.

She waited as he took it all in, and almost laughed when his heartbeat increased even more. That idiot was obviously surprised by the snuggling.

Then, to her secret delight, he tightened his hold on her even more and buried his head into her hair, giving out a sigh of content. It took quite a bit of her willpower to stay still and withhold the urge to squeal like some idiotic schoolgirl.

"I know you're awake," he murmured, to her surprise.

She quickly raised her head and stared up at him, a little embarrassed. "Oh? How did you know?"

"I didn't, but you just confirmed it for me." He smirked, his voice thick from sleep.

"Aren't you clever," she grumbled, going back to laying on his chest. "You were sleeping," she told him smugly, as if she won at some game they were playing.

"I know," he said. "It was the best sleep I've had in four years."

Wow. He sure did know how to turn her stomach into a butterflies nest.

She didn't know how long they lay there like that, but she did know she was the happiest she could remember.

"Thank you," he finally said, "for being here for me. For making me talk…"

"You'd do the same for me if I lost people," she told him.

He nodded in agreement.

"Temari?"

"Hm?"

"What is this?"

"Really damn comfortable?"

He snorted, and her forehead tickled as stray strands of her hair brushed against it. "Seriously."

It was then that she finally got up off him. His arms reluctantly unclasped and she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking down at the lazy boy-no, _man_ , that was able to stir such unknown emotions in her. "I don't know, Shikamaru. I just know I care about you, and I don't want to lose you. This war…all this death…it's just…I don't know what I'm saying. I don't know what this is."

He reached up then and brushed a few loose strands of hair off her forehead. She tried not to shiver at his touch. "Want my two cents?" he asked her.

"Sure."

"I think I'm an absolute mess." He told her, and she felt a cold emptiness puncture a whole in her stomach. That did _not_ set a good tone for where this conversation was going. "I think we're from different villages. You're the sister of the Kazekage and I'm set up to be the next Hokage's right hand man."

A rancid mixture of anger and sadness billowed out of the cold hole in her stomach, and she made to leave the couch, feeling humiliated. His hands were quick, though, and grabbed her wrists.

He stared into her eyes, and she tried not to let the hurt show. She knew she wasn't doing a good job.

"I also think I would never forgive myself if I let you get away from me, you troublesome woman."

She blinked at him, it took her a moment to process what he said.

When did this jerk get so romantic, or handsome?

He closed his eyes then, and tugged lightly at her wrist. She allowed herself to be lowered back onto his chest, and this time only one hand encircled her waist. The other brushed lightly up her spine from her waist to her shoulders, and she sighed happily despite herself.

"Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?" he asked her.

"Yes." She told him. "It better be somewhere fancy, though."

He laughed, "troublesome."

"We could go tonight, t's still early evening." She offered, absentmindedly tracing shapes in the fabric of his shirt, right over his heart.

He shook his head. "That nap was rather good. I think I'd like another one."

"You lazy-ass. You already slept for eight hours." She was secretly delighted.

"Good, only a couple thousand more hours until I'm back on track." He said dryly.

She suddenly felt drowsy again, and yawned into his chest. "I think your laziness is infectious," she grumbled.

He yawned too.

And then they were asleep in each others arms.

* * *

 _ **Fifteen years later.**_

* * *

Shikamaru and Temari sat in the VIP-Kage box, watching the final rounds of the Chunin Exams with rapt interest.

Next to them was Naruto, in his Hokage uniform. He was trying (and failing) to contain his excitement as he watched his son fight alongside Shikamaru's in the preliminary team fights. Hinata was next to him, looking down at the fighting genin with a small smile on her face. Behind them, they could hear TenTen and her husband shouting words of encouragement.

The new Team 7 consisted of the children of the only surviving members of the legendary Konoha 11. Boruto Uzumaki, son of Hinata and Naruto Uzumaki, Shikadai Nara, son of Shikamaru and Temari Nara, and Aiko Hastei, daughter of TenTen and Motori Hastei.

The new Team 7 was currently beating the snot out of one of the teams from the Land of Grass.

Temari cheered loudly as Aiko threw a bunch of kunai in the air, creating dozens of shadows for her son to utilize. Within moments the Grass team was completely immobilized, and Boruto had used the Gentle Fist on each of them, bringing them down. They were declared the winners, and were going to move on to the individual battles.

Shikamaru put an arm around Temari and smiled down at his son, who was looking bored as Boruto and Aiko jumped around in glee.

"He really does take after you," she noted, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I think he's more like you than it seems." Shikamaru contradicted, using the arm that was around her to pinch her ribs, making her squeak. She flushed at the vulnerable sound that escaped her lips and glared at him.

He looked down at her and smiled, and she studied his eyes, now clear of the pain that had once haunted them. Sure, some nights the pain retuned to his eyes and he would retire to bed early, and she would go up there and he would hold her like they did that first night in Kumo. They would fall asleep and in the morning he would be better and treat her like a queen.

Growing up the way she did, she never could've imagined being so happy, and looking into those eyes she realized how lucky they were to have each other.

She found her glare fading and she smiled back that extremely toothy grin at him that she new he loved.

And later that night, when their hair was down and they were drifting off to sleep, he brushed his thumb over lips as they laid in each others arms and whispered "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back, amazed that he could still make her blush so easily after all these years.

Handsome jerk.

* * *

 **So there it is! I hope I did alright, I'd love some constructive criticism and comments! I know the politics of the war might be a little iffy, but I honestly didn't spend too much time on that.**


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